Toronto Maple Leafs GM Chris Chayka told reporters Saturday that the team's offseason focus starts with depth, but left the door open for bigger swings. Sergei Bobrovsky just became the most available big swing on the market.
Chayka's exact words: "There's some bigger swings that we'll take and look at some things, but it's a two-sided marketplace."
That quote is doing a lot of work for a franchise that gave up 299 goals this season, the worst mark in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs finished 32-36-14. Twenty-eighth overall. Their goalies combined for a mess of a season: Samuel Ersson posted a .869 save percentage in 33 games, Anthony Stolarz sat at .893 in 26, and Dennis Hildeby at .912 in just 20.
None of those numbers are fixing anything. Not in Toronto. Not with Auston Matthews at $13,250,000 on the roster.
As Nick Alberga noted Saturday, Bobrovsky is now the last big name at the position still available.
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Bobrovsky is 37 years old and carries a $10,000,000 cap hit with Florida. He went 20-23 in 52 games this season with a .876 save percentage for a Panthers team that finished 40-38-4, twenty-fifth overall.
Those numbers are not inspiring. A .876 save percentage would rank among the worst starter numbers in the league.
Leafs cap crunch makes a $10M Bobrovsky deal nearly impossible
Matthews at $13,250,000. William Nylander at $11,500,000. Morgan Rielly at $7,500,000. Matthew Knies at $7,750,000. Toronto already has a log jam at the top of the cap.
Adding Bobrovsky at $10 million would be like buying a luxury car when the roof is caving in. You'd still have a leaky house.
Chayka called it "a two-sided marketplace." That part matters. Bobrovsky would need to want Toronto too, and it's unclear why a 37-year-old veteran would choose a team that went 2-7-1 in its final ten games.
The goalie question in Toronto is real. Whether Bobrovsky is the answer is a much harder sell.
Should the Leafs pursue Sergei Bobrovsky despite his age and cap hit?
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